Ready For Another Round...

Back in Costa again... The plane flights were exactly how I expected them, long and annoying. When I showed up to LAX they almost didn't let me on the plane with the ammount of gear I was carrying. My delema was that I was carrying 215lb's of gear and my 'big' bag was 89 lb's and there was a max of 70. I began pulling out clothes and strapping them to the outside of my already oversize carry-on backpack and put 2 shirts and an extra sweatshirt on myself. I eventually just had to throw a few away. I looked like I bum and was completely ready to reject me when I tried to get on the plane...but I hid the computer and pulled all the straps down bar-tight and got away with it. After two packed flights and a stop over in beautiful George Bush International Airport I stepped out into the heat. The cheapest way for me to get to puntarenas was to take a cab and it turned out to be a good choice. The cabby was a pretty rad guy and we rocked out to some american classic rock station while indy racing all the way to Puntarenas. I showed up just in time to get the last room for the night and sat down for a well diserved imperial and arroz con pollo. When I sat down and relaxed I felt so stoked to be back here, all the memories just started pouring back in. I didn't take long though to remember why I was here alone, early, and yielding a bag full of parts and tools. After dinner and back in the room, I felt the slow, overwhelming and undeniable symptoms of stress. Who knows what condition the boat will be in? How long this extensive list will take to accomplish? Will the engine start? Will anything start? Will the boat be there? Well, the next morning I got my first look. The boat was covered in dirt, bird shit, mold and the varnish was destroyed. Inside, the boat looked just how I remembered it...trashed. But, all in all everthing looked like I'd expected. The next two days cosisted of cleaning and making it possible for me to move around inside. Then I arranged to have the bottom painted, hooked up all electronics, solar panels, dodger, moved everything on deck, drained and filled water tanks, did a complete engine overhaul and started wiping down the mold off all the walls inside. There were no real supprises, just many hot, long days. I have been here now for 14 days and Gaviota is ready to go. The new autopilot is installed (I would never wish a Raymarine install on anyone) and everything is operational. It's been dead flat here so I've spent the last two days relaxing and waiting for Pat and Alex to get here so we can go do someting fun for once! I have met some old friends here and some new ones and it's been great geting to know all the employee's here at the yacht club...when your living here like this everyone just becomes family. I'm feelin pretty good about the future right now and can't wait to see what lies ahead...